


You can't call me Wrath

by pwoperdiana



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Police, Drug Enforcement Administration, Drug Use, I Don't Even Know, Infiltration, Knotting, M/M, Mates, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Smut, Spies & Secret Agents, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-08
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-04-12 14:45:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19134196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pwoperdiana/pseuds/pwoperdiana
Summary: Yoo Kihyun, forensic scientist, works under the chief of Intelligence Im Changkyun at the DEA headquarters. Their special operations team is on the track of the infamous drug dealer known as Wrath, said to lead trading operations of 'dX’, an illegal drug used to subdue people to forced labor, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation.As Yoo Kihyun struggles with work, he must change of residence and keep a low profile, but his new alpha neighbor doesn't stop catching his eye every night when he drives away on his motorcycle and returns in the morning.That alpha smells like danger, but danger is Kihyun’s preferred aperitif.





	1. Keep Your Eyes Peeled

A thick drop of sweat slid down Kihyun's nape. The rest of the board members were no different, sweating inside the crowded room. The scene definitely looked like a board meeting, everyone sat around a large table waiting for the boss, but they were not working in a company, they all were special agents, detectives, police officers, and he was a scientist, just having an unexpected meeting as usual; after all, crime was the order of the day. Everyone was tired and dozy, particularly Kihyun, who had been working nonstop the whole day and now was barely paying attention to his surroundings. 

“Okay,” Changkyun entered to the crowded room clearing his throat for attention, and the room went silent. He was wearing a white shirt with sleeves rolled up till his elbows, and rounded glasses rested on the bridge of his nose. “Everyone must be wondering why are we all here when we've already discussed this beforehand. Well, I consider necessary to make some remarks about why this mission is so important.” He was holding a cup of coffee and placed it on the table, as he stepped in front of it and turned on the big white electronic board behind him. The alpha was rushing his speech to catch everyone's attention. “Everyone needs to be careful with their new identities and residences assigned. This is a dangerous zone, no distractions from work are allowed. Avoid getting along with your neighbors and don’t let them get into your homes.” He was used to moving his hands a lot while speaking; Kihyun was more focused on the movements of his fingers than in the actual speech. 

“As you may know, most of the murders registered during the last month, where victims were under the effects of dX, have been tracked to this city, so we need to be extremely cautious and analyze how crime in this region works. Every day, we need to be one step closer to Wrath.”

Changkyun made a short pause to take out a handkerchief from his pocket and dried the sweat that was dripping down his forehead. His brown bangs fell wet over his eyebrows and he slicked them back with his hand. 

It was late in the afternoon, but it felt as if they were working at the top of a building at midday without air conditioner and the sun above their heads. March was one hell of a month due to the current global warming. During the day the scorching heat, not even fans could cool down, dried every molecule of water in your body, and during the night a cold breeze pierced through your bones making you want to wear a woolen jacket. 

They actually were underground in what seemed like a basement that was installed last month for them to move out and work closer to the crime scenes, to keep track of every single murder or doubtful death.

Wrath was a pain in the ass. They had been identifying, investigating and dismantling drug operations, fighting against organized crime for three years now and they were one of the best special operations teams with a broad arrests record on his back ; yet everything related to Wrath disappeared from the face of the earth like smoke drifted away by the wind. Not even a single name nor a single fingerprint, they had nothing but the register of deaths caused by the drug, without considering the ones from people who had completely disappeared, and that nickname. Wrath was like a ghost everyone talked about, but no one had ever seen. 

Changkyun turned on the projector with the remote and the whiteboard lighted up showing a picture of two young omega women laid on the ground, their bodies covered with ragged silk dresses and dirt staining their skin. Kihyun's heart skipped a beat: those pictures had been taken by himself. The light brown hair from one and the blonde hair from the other was messily mixed with a flood of blood. One could have guessed they had been thrown down from the bridge above them, heads bleeding of the fall. In the field, Kihyun had learned to capture crime scenes, as harsh as they had been, through a camera lens. It was kinda cruel yet he could find them somehow beautiful; those pictures were the last glimpse of a body before getting into the freezer, being opened out, burnt or buried. 

“Two dead bodies were found last night under the Rickon bridge just 8 km away from here. Two young omegas under the age of 20, and according to our specialists both were under the effects of dX.”

Yeah, Kihyun knew that for sure. He had been working the whole afternoon with his team analyzing the blood and skin from the victims; neither fingerprints nor fluids had been found. It was as if they had died from an overdose; the blood test would tell. 

“The bodies were most likely transported in a van and thrown from the bridge for them to be found...”

The alpha scowled as he described the scene and state of the bodies they had found that morning. Bruises and marks of inflicted harm covered their skins, yet those marks hadn't been the cause of death, it had been the drug. Those omega girls most likely had been drugged for sex, and they ended up dying because of an overdose before the customers could even touch them. The marks were probably from previous encounters. dX was dangerous, like any other drug, the difference was that it could cause dependence since the first use and that everyone needed different right amounts of dX on their bodies to feel good or it could be lethal; any variation in the dose could change a moment of pleasure to imminent death. Omegas were the most vulnerable because they required lower doses. 

“This is your welcome gift for the ones who joined today, so let’s work hard starting tomorrow.” Changkyun turned off the projector and took a sip of his coffee, throwing a glance at the slender man with grey hair sat in the front row. His name was Chae Hyungwon, a beta who had come that morning to work as an Intelligence Research Specialist , but he was no rookie: he had been working abroad on special missions following the Japanese mafia for around two years as part of a Sensitive Information Unit, which operated under strict protocols designed to limit detection by hostile organizations and leak information to unreliable associates. He had won a bunch of experience by then, so it was clear that Changkyun had put on him high expectation. 

“Make sure no one gets to know your real names and do not allow information to leak through any source. We have a lot of work to do these days. Make sure you all rest well…” 

Kihyun relaxed on his seat and finished his cup of Americano in one gulp; he knew those words only meant no rest for the next weeks, so better get ready.

“Kihyunie I want to sleep.” Minhyuk yawned and complained beside him. The slim omega had been fidgeting during the whole meeting, as usual, avoiding to look at the graphic depictions of dead people. Even though Minhyuk sometimes could seem weak or childish, he was one of their best agents. He knew how to use words and twist them in order to get what he wanted. Special risky missions were always under his lead when it came to infiltration. 

Minhyuk affectionately hit Kihyun’s shoulder and stood up from his chair as the room slowly emptied.

“I’m heading home Kihyun, or should I call you Kyuhyun now?” Minhyuk smirked. Yoo Kihyun was now called Yook Kyuhyun for everyone outside their team. It was hard getting used to it, and he kept on forgetting it every time he took out his credit card to paid something and people referred to him as Mr. Yook; he went like “Excuse me?” until he remembered Mr. Yook was him now. 

“Very funny Mingyu.” Kihyun followed him as they left the room. 

“Oh shut up, I hate it. I would have preferred something more American like Edward.” The blond complained. “Changkyun has terrible taste in names.”

Kihyun went to the lab with Minhyuk to get his belongings and both walked out to the parking lot, ready to be picked up by their drivers. Chae Hyungwon was also there and looked at them when he noticed their scents. The omegas could felt a judging stare falling like acid rain over them. 

Betas had always been the ones in charge of public political issues. Omegas and alphas had always been a problem for police enforcement, they were too temperamental or too submissive, useless for law and order affairs. Luckily in drugs matters, they were the best the police had. It was like going hunting; their sharp instinct allowed them to glean information from the environment. Still, some betas were relentless against omegas working for the police; they considered them too weak and fragile. Perhaps that was one of the reasons why Hyungwon looked at them with contempt, and now he felt like the Mesias who had arrived just in time to save this fucked up team led by alphas and omegas from drowning. 

“I’ll invite him for lunch tomorrow.” Minhyuk whispered closer to Kihyun’s ear.

“Good luck then.” That was one of the best Minhyuk techniques; make everyone your friend and you would have a bunch of allies ready to back you up. 

As he stood waiting in the parking lot outside the headquarters, a black Camaro stopped in front of him and he opened the door to hop in. Another beta scent filled his nostrils.

“Good night.” He greeted the driver. It was always a different guy, but he remembered this one from the first night, 2 days ago. He never forgot the scents of other people. Everyone smelled different and his olfactory memory was unerring when it came to recognizing people.

“Good night.” The driver nodded as Kihyun closed the door. They didn’t speak more beyond formalities. The man already had the instructions to drive him to the subway station and drop him there. It was the same thing in the mornings; he walked to the subway and went 5 stations north away from home, where this Camaro or any other car and driver he had been previously informed of would pick him up. 

They were more than careful; Changkyun would not allow them to screw the mission leaving loose ends. Everything had been strategically planned for them appear to be just common citizens on labor. In a glimpse, he arrived at the subway and sent off the driver as he disappeared in the road.  

Kihyun’s new home was a small and modest apartment at the center of the city, always surrounded by noise and pollution from the street. Lovely. He would have preferred to live in a hotel room, but that wasn’t for him to choose. 

The lack of furniture didn't help either. The apartment felt lonely, empty and unpleasant. His job allowed him to live an expensive life and he had enough money to buy himself a good house yet there he was. What was the point of breaking your ass working when you couldn't freely enjoy the pleasure of money?

Putting that aside, the thing was, there was a revolting scent lingering in the air and chasing after him all the time. The strong smell of an alpha, stronger than anything he had smelled before, came from next door and stunk out his apartment. He hated that smell. He hated it because it made him surrender to his most primitive instincts.

He had always been the sultry omega who would get laid with the horniest alphas and regretted the morning after. They were as hot as reckless, but he had ended up fucking with them anyway whenever he couldn't handle the urgency.

All his sex partners had told him he was luscious. When he moaned like a whore as they touched his wet rim with their tongues and licked all the sweetness out of him. He had left that life behind, though.

It had been a while since Kihyun had got laid with someone. The suppressants he had been taking were making his heat cycles shorter and weaker, alpha pheromones were triggering him less than before, and he didn't need to worry about pregnancy for the rest of his life: advantages of modern medicine improvements to help omegas live a normal and peaceful life in which they could actually control themselves instead of being controlled by their sexual impulses or live at the mercy of alphas. That was good, that was the way he had chosen to live; in that way, he was able to focus on his work. 

He had been ignoring alpha pheromones for two years straight since he had started to work for the DEA. Every omega needed to take suppressants if they wanted to be able to work as much as their job required. It would be a problem if omegas suddenly went on heat becoming a distraction for the alphas working with them and those alphas becoming a potential threat. Thus, Kihyun had stopped seeing his past lovers and dedicated his life and brain to science and law. 

He had been on night clubs before with his coworkers and friends where pheromones were the star of the night and everyone went for a hookup, yet alphas were as betas for him, some of them with stronger smells than others, which reached his senses and reminded him of his omega impulses, but nothing he couldn't handle. And now this one was particularly annoying him. 

Three days he had been living in that place, three days he was dying of curiosity to face the owner of that smell, but the smell was not the only thing that was making Kihyun so curious. Every night the man from the next door came out of his house completely dressed in black and hopped on the motorcycle parked outside the building, putting on his black helmet with red strains before driving away. Kihyun knew it was him because during the night the smell disappeared and came back stronger in the mornings. 

The first day Kihyun had moved to that place, he had felt the whole floor reeking of alpha, and later that night he had seen the alpha through the window while he was unpacking his clothes: built up body in black leather clothes. The second day Kihyun had heard the roar of the engine when he started his motorcycle. The third day Kihyun had been waiting, peeking through his window to catch a glimpse of the man. He saw the clothes and caught sight of his side face while the man was putting on his helmet; he was lethally handsome, at least from the distance. No wonder those stronger pheromones came from him. Kihyun also checked the hour, 11 pm, just like the previous days.

That morning he had heard a noise coming from the contiguous apartment while he had been taking a shower. Kihyun remembered hearing that noise the previous day. The man had arrived at his house at 6 am. Was he on the night shift of some company? Kihyun had surprised himself thinking about him when he was at home. It was the freaking smell numbing his reasoning. 

That day was no different. Kihyun was washing the dishes from dinner when he heard the latch from next door and held himself back from running over his window to see. The omega just heard the roar from the engine and felt the scent getting weaker. Kihyun might have to wait until next morning if he really wanted to see him, maybe he will wear sports clothes and jogged outside his apartment pretending he was just coming back from morning exercise, but of course he wouldn’t do that, he had to keep a low profile and go unnoticed. 

Kihyun sighed and fetched the porridge leftovers from breakfast to keep his mouth busy as he laid on the only sofa in front of the TV. He wasn't really watching anything; he usually used it as white noise while he wrote his reports. 

The omega rested his laptop on his lap and his fingers mechanically started to write as he filled forms and wrote his report from that day. 

> _ Two dead bodies were found this morning under the Rickon bridge… With those deaths there are now up to 6 bodies that had been found this week in the outskirts of the city, all deaths are related to the dangerous drug “dX”... The drug is often mistaken with sleeping pills, LSD, amphetamines, or presented as a powder or crystals you can pour in your drink and stir, making it hard for anyone to realize something dangerous is in there…  _

Kihyun didn’t notice when the show he was listening to had finished and the news had started. Everyone talked about how dangerous Dx was, yet everyone kept on using it; people were stupid. The voice of the news anchor was slowly lulling him to sleep. His eyelids felt heavy, and his hands stopped writing. He closed his laptop letting himself laid on the sofa, just a bit of rest and he would get back to work.

 

An annoying non-stopping buzz brought Kihyun back to life a few hours later. His phone was ringing on the table and the light of the screen burned his tired eyes when he stretched his arm to reach it and see who was calling. The clock on the screen marked 5 am. It was a call from Changkyun. Great.

Kihyun was supposed to work from 9 am to 6 pm but that was just a vain promised written on his contract. He actually worked extra hours all the time and barely had time to eat. Luckily, the headquarters had a kitchen, so there was no need to leave to take fresh air or feel the cool breeze in your face when you're packed with data to analyze and reports to write. 

_ “Kihyun, we got a situation here. I need you to come over now.” _ Changkyun demanded on the phone instead of asking. 

“Sure.” Kihyun yawned on purpose to make the man felt pity for waking him up. “What’s the problem?”

“I’ll tell you when you get there. I’m heading to the office right now, see you there.” Changkyun hung up in a hurry, he was probably driving and a man shouldn’t be making phone calls while driving. 

_The office_. Changkyun was taking his fake work as CEO of a car insurance company way too serious. Kihyun was just one more of the employees assigned to the sales department, an insult to his Ph.D. on Forensic science.

Kihyun rose up from the couch and walked to the bathroom for a quick shower before getting dress up for work. Plain and formal black clothing like a businessman. In the eyes of others, he was just an office worker. He had nothing related to work at home; everything stayed at the headquarters, even his real identity. He adjusted his tie in front of the mirror and grabbed his briefcase, throwing a last glance at his pale face in the reflection. 

Kihyun opened the door and turned to lock it up when he heard the same noise beside him. A man, his neighbor, the alpha, was opening his door, pulling the key inside the lock with one hand and grabbing his black helmet with the other. He casually turned his head to look at him, and the man looked up returning the glance. Those dark brown eyes pierced sharply through Kihyun making his heart pound harder against his chest, all his senses on alert. 

“Good morning.” The man greeted him with a grin and his deep voice sent a shiver through Kihyun’s spine. The omega felt the pressure growing inside him; the alpha was subtly demanding a response. He was beyond handsome, a whole alpha, one of those any omega would die to be fucked and marked by. His brown hair fell wet and messy over his forehead in curly strands. He was sweating under his leather jacket, the front of it showing his shirt stuck to his muscular torso and the tanned skin of his chest shining under the dim light of the corridor. Kihyun was speechless, the alpha might be able to smell his weakness if he wasn't careful enough to hold back his instincts, but he had taken his suppressants, so there was nothing to worry about, so the omega thought. 

“Good morning” Kihyun returned the courtesy, bowing shyly because of the strong presence.

“You just moved here, right? I haven’t seen you before” The alpha inquired, quirking a brow.

“Yeah, four days ago.” The omega tried to sound laid-back, easygoing, but he failed, his voice slightly quivering at the end. 

“Right, I saw your moving truck parked outside that day.” The alpha shook his head, finally taking his eyes off of Kihyun.

Kihyun started to feel uncomfortable, the smell was getting too strong it was nearly unbearable. He looked at his wristwatch, troubled by the seconds moving slower.

“Are you going to work?” The alpha looked at his briefcase, and his eyes traveled from Kihyun’s head to toes. 

“Yeah. I’m in a hurry now...” Kihyun wanted to go away from there as soon as possible.  

“Well, it’s a shame. Nice to meet you…” The alpha awaited for a name, tilting his head expectantly.

“Kihyun.”  _ Shit _ . Kihyun had just screwed it up big. He had said his real name instead of the one he was supposed to use. He had been so distracted by the scent he had ended up spitting up the right answer to his neighbor, and now his potential threat.  _ Or weakness. _

“Ok, Kihyun, see you around.” The alpha opened the door of his apartment and took a step inside. 

“Wait.” The omega rose his voice up, instinctively grabbing the alpha by the arm, a reckless impulse. “Sorry.” He loosened the hold, fear growing inside him. He wanted to go back in time and answered Kyuhyun instead, or say something like “I meant, Kyuhyun” but he had been slow, and people didn't go around mispronouncing their names.  “You didn’t tell me your name.” At least he wanted to have a name too. 

“Oh yes, I beg your pardon.” The alpha overreacted his apology. Fierce, but somehow kind eyes looked at him again.  “You can call me Hyunwoo.” 

“Nice to meet you, Hyunwoo.” What did he mean by “ _ you _ can call me..”? Was it a fake name? 

“Nice to meet you too, Kihyun.” The alpha smirked and finally disappeared inside his apartment. 

Kihyun breathed out, draining all the air out of his lungs. He went down the stairs and walked straight to the subway. The smell was still there, weakening each second with each step he took, but still strong. What had that been? He had never felt like that in front of anyone. All those years surrounded by alphas where he didn’t even flinch, felt like nothing. He was no ordinary alpha. Kihyun could felt that since the second he caught his scent for the first time; there was something different about him. 

 

The same beta driver was waiting outside the station and took Kihyun to the headquarters, where everyone was already up and down to work. 

Changkyun was inside his office, sat behind his desk with Hyungwon standing beside him showing him something on the computer. Kihyun knocked on the door announcing his arrival. Changkyun looked up and gestured him to come in.

“Kihyun, thank you for coming. Maybe this is not of your direct concern, but you’re part of the team, so we need you around.” Changkyun spoke in a hurry without taking his eyes off of the computer. Hyungwon nodded acknowledging his presence, but no more. 

“Is everything okay? What happened?” Kihyun stood in front of the desk, waiting for answers and instructions.

“The local police called us saying they have a man under custody who claims to have information related to Wrath. He wants protection.” Changkyun looked up at him and took off his glasses.

“How do you know it is not a trap?” Kihyun’s eyes widened. They had just arrived a few days ago, and they had bodies served on a silver plate and now an ally, a row of coincidences. 

“They put me on the phone with him. He said he had been buying dX for his girls and serving it at his brothel. He was drowning on debts and couldn’t pay for the last order before the deadline. Today his girls called him because the brothel set on fire. Seems like he has nothing else to lose.” Hyungwon handed a shit of paper to Changkyun who signed it without reading it. 

“We’re heading off to the brothel now. I need you to come with us to collect samples of the everything you can found, the fuel used to start the fire, remains of DNA, other drugs, anything that could lead us to the responsible. Bring your best team with you.” Changkyun rose up from his seat and put on his black coat and his glasses back on his face. Hyungwon left the room with his hands full of papers. 

“But how is this directly related to Wrath?” Th is case seemed just like  revenge against the man in debt. Wrath was never the one getting his hands dirty, he was the head of the organization. 

“He said the one who sold him the drug from the first time was not an ordinary dealer. He delivered it at his brothel in a black van and inspected all the place without a word with his dogs, but he was the only one wearing a dust mask to hide his face.” Changkyun walked around the desk toward Kihyun, stressing the last words.

“A man wearing a dust mask…” The last time they had been close to finding something related to Wrath, a man had told them about a dealer who always wore a dust mask. The day after, the witness had been found dead in his cell. Death by hanging, making it look like a suicide. 

“He calls himself Greed. The man knows how to reach him.” Changkyun whispered close to his ear. 

“And who the hell is that Greed?” Kihyun muttered. His head was working trying to make connections. 

“He’s Wrath’s right hand.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there!  
> For starts, I want to say I know nothing about the DEA, so don't take this seriously. I just used the name because I needed an organization fighting against drugs.  
> I wanted to write something about drugs, ABO and Shownu riding a motorcycle, then I decided to put those all together and this came out.  
> They live in a kind of ABO dystopic world without a specific location, but you can say they live in what used to be the USA. "dX" is a drug I made up for this world and I'll be explaining its use and consequences.  
> Anyway, let me know your thoughts about this, whether this is too boring, should I give up on writing, my English sucks, or you are actually looking forward to more? All comments are welcome.


	2. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

The brothel was almost burned to the grounds. The firefighters had managed to stop the fire from spreading to the next establishments and were putting out the last remains of it.

There were mostly hotels and casinos in that street, so night activity was higher than in other areas of the city. The area had been cordoned off and some people were gathered around trying to see what was happening. Some omega women were covering themselves with blankets and their faces were dirty due to the ashes spread through the air; they were being questioned by the local police officers.

Kihyun, Changkyun, and Hyungwon hopped off the black van in which they arrived at the scene. Changkyun gave instructions to the driver to stay close without obstructing the road for the ambulances and patrols as the three of them got inside the cordoned area; Kihyun and Hyungwon walking a step behind Changkyun.

“I don’t know how the fire started. I was with a customer, and we heard a loud noise coming from the first floor followed by the smell of something burning, then we ran out of the room, and he left without paying.” One of the older omega girls with a foreign accent was talking with a young beta officer. She looked very upset about the last thing she had said. Changkyun got closer to them, waiting for the girl to finish before interrupting.

“You were the one who contacted the owner, right?” The officer asked as he wrote down what she was telling.

“Yes, I freaked out when I saw the flames and everyone running toward the emergency exit, but I kept calm and called the boss. After all, that place was where I earned a living.” The omega woman rubbed his eyes with his fingers and looked at the ruins. Kihyun couldn't identify whether if those eyes were showing longing or relief.

“Excuse me Sir, lady, officer Lim Chang Jung from the DEA.” Changkyun showed his fake badge to the officer. He trusted no one. “We would like to speak to the witness.”

“What is the DEA doing here?” The young officer seemed confused.

“We will be the ones asking questions. If you don’t mind, could you take me to your supervisor?” Changkyun adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose and smiled, showing his alpha fangs for a fleeting second. The beta officer bowed unwittingly at the sight and started to walk. “Follow me.”

Changkyun turned to Kihyun and Hyungwon and asked the last one to interrogate the witness as he made a gesture for Kihyun to follow him. Hyungwon nodded and walked away from them.

The young officer led them to an all-black patrol car around the corner and knocked on the window twice. Someone from the inside pulled down the window, and the officer ducked his head to whisper something to that person.

An older alpha with almost all his hair white, got out of the car and bowed at Changkyun. “So, the DEA is finally here.”

"One of your men contacted us. We would like to take care of the scene from now. I’ve brought my specialist team," Changkyun pointed at Kihyun and the omega bowed his head. "We'll have everything under control."

"Yes, I was the one who gave the order to contact you.” The man smiled, “Feel free to use our men if needed. This ‘dX’ thing is a big deal, isn’t it?"

"Thanks Sir. Certainly, we need to be careful if we want to stop it. Then, Kyuhyun please gather your team and start working."

'Kyuhyun', yes, Changkyun was being way too careful to trust even the local police. “Yes Sir.” He bowed at them before walking away, but Changkyun stopped him holding his arm and whispered in his ear.

“Don’t trust their men.”

Kihyun nodded and walked to the van were his subordinates were waiting for instructions, a small team of forensic chemists and fingerprint specialists. Even though sometimes Changkyun looked paranoiac, Kihyun trusted his gut. Hyungwon was around the ambulances taking notes as he spoke with the omegas who worked at the place. The beta threw at Kihyun a killing glance when he saw him lead his team into the zone along with the firefighters and the fire protection specialist who had arrived before them.

Kihyun and his team got inside the remaining structure with the help of the firefighters, who secured the area and cleared off the path for them. According to the fire protection specialist, it had been a Class C fire, where a combustible liquid had been used as in Class B fires, but it had involved energized electrical equipment.

They took samples and quickly found out what kind of fuel had been used to start the fire. Apparently, someone had left a path of gasoline from the service room to the back door of the building, letting free the emergency exit and the stairs on purpose for the girls to run away before the fire spread.

The initial flame had been intentionally produced, probably with a lighter, and it had worked as a heat source, as convection and radiation ignited more surfaces, increasing the size of the fire and finally reaching the ceiling. They had taken time previously to disable the fire emergency system, so the one who started the fire had arrived earlier, not just in time for his task; he had experience in those matters. The hot gases collected at the ceiling had transferred heat, allowing all fuels in the room to come closer to their ignition temperature at the same time. Kihyun pictured the scene on his head as he passed by the ashes and rubbles, and it was beautiful; the plume consuming everything, hell engulfed by fire.

Once started, the fire had easily reached the electrical enclosure and caused an explosion, making it hard to stop it from spreading. The use of water is dangerous during those cases because water conducts electricity, but fortunately, the explosion had destroyed the wires causing a blackout so that, the firefighters had been able to put it off by the traditional method.  

Kihyun found that MO similar to one they had discovered a few months ago, which was also related with ‘dX’; leaving a building completely destroyed but giving enough time for the people inside it to escape. Whoever planning and doing this wanted to save as many lives as possible but was making sure to destroy all evidence.

Kihyun finished taking all the pictures, and his team collected the samples they needed, along with the information proportioned by the fire specialists, and joined Changkyun and Hyungwon, who was already finishing the questioning.

“We’re done there. My team is securing the evidence inside the van.”

“Good job. Did you notice something interesting about the way the fire was started?” Changkyun asked as if he was looking for confirmation of something he already knew. Kihyun explained the details and Changkyun nodded as Hyungwon looked into his notes before adding some information.

“One of the girls told us about a new customer they hadn’t seen before who arrived approximately 2 hours before the fire. She said he was particularly picky about choosing his partner, so he stayed in the waiting room for over an hour as they showed him the girls available. Then he suddenly disappeared without a trace.”

“Any particular physical description?” Changkyun inquired.

“She just said he looked muscular, but his body was all covered in black clothes. He was wearing a turtleneck shirt and a jacket with a hood over it. White guy not over his thirties… She doesn’t remember any scent, as if he were using something to hide it.”

“Well that is something, are there camera records left?”

“All destroyed by the fire,” Kihyun confirmed.

“Let’s check the camera records from the stores nearby. If the fire started at around 1 am he should have been recorded at least by one camera around 11 pm from yesterday.”

“Want me to go personally for the camera records?” Hyungwon asked.

“No, it’s okay, I’ll have someone else doing it. You two follow me. We’re taking the owner to the headquarters now.”

“Where is he?” Hyungwon asked.

“He was being guarded by the chief officer, the old man we met earlier.” Changkyun turned his head to Kihyun as the three of them walked. 

“Do you trust him? How did he get to know about that Greed being Wrath’s right hand?” Kihyun’s curiosity would sound natural, but it was beyond professionalism. Through the years, this case was becoming something personal. Even though he was just a scientist, the case had been consuming all his intellectual resources during this kind of expeditions, so he desperately needed to put an end to it.

“Of course, I don’t trust him,” Changkyun chuckled, “But we’ll see, he sounded pretty sure on the phone.”

A couple of local officers were at each side of a man who reeked like an alpha. A nasty one. Kihyun wanted to hold his breath; then he understood that woman’s face from before could only mean relief. He had a scare on his left cheek and narrowed deep brown eyes. He looked like a cornered lion, waiting for the right time to attack.

“Get him on our car, we’ll escort him to our headquarters,” Changkyun ordered with a gesture. The officers started to walk toward the DEA vehicle.

"Wait," Changkyun turned to the officers. "Hyungwon, please get this man blindfolded before taking him to the van."

"Blindfolded?" The man asked fiercely. His voice was less deep than Kihyun had thought but sharp. "What? Wait, what do you mean?" But Chankyun didn't mutter a word to ease his complaints.

Hyungwon took out of his coat a long piece of cloth and covered the reluctant man eyes as the officers held him still for him. Why did Hyungwon have that rag there?, Kihyun didn't know.

By the time they arrived at the headquarters, it was already 11 am. The sun was hitting hard on the asphalt when they got off the van and Kihyun stomach was complaining because he hadn't had time to eat anything.

Kihyun and the others entered through the main door of the huge building disguised as a car insurance company, while the officers guarding their ally entered through the back door.

Everyone went right to the questioning room as they called it, but it was an ordinary one-way mirror room with an metal table and two chairs. Changkyun and Hyungwon got into the room, along with two security guards who were pulling the blindfolded alpha inside. They sat him in the chair in front of Changkyun while Hyungwon stayed stand up behind the alpha. Kihyun and other detectives went to the room behind the mirror in order to watch the questioning. Minhyuk and other special agents joined them a few minutes later.

The guards took off the blindfold off the alpha’s head. He opened his eyes slowly as he got used to the bright light inside the room. He placed his handcuffed hands on the table and focused his gaze on Changkyun.

“There was no need for that” The alpha scowled.

“My apologies, but it was necessary.” Changkyun used his soft voice to ease off the tension. “The location of our headquarters must remain secret, so you will be blindfolded again the next time we transfer you.” The alpha just shrugged and leaned on the back of the chair. Hyungwon handed to Changkyun the criminal record of the alpha.

“Okay Serge, that’s your name, right?” Changkyun looked at him over the frame of his glasses.

“Yes.”

Changkyun’s eyes travel quickly over the pages as he passed them with skillful fingers. Then he returned the record to Hyungwon as if he wasn't going to need it anymore and looked at the alpha.

“When did you start to buy dX?”

“Like 2 years ago.” The alpha muttered.

“Why?”

“Because my girls were not at their 100%, you know. There is a lot of competition in this kind of business.” Kihyun chuckled in the other room. He wasn’t surprised, he had seen the worst of people, he just couldn’t understand why that kind of people existed.

“Of course.” Changkyun smiled. "We've heard what you told the officers about this Greed, how do you know that name?"

"I…” The alpha hesitated as he ordered his thoughts. “Well, one day I received the monthly dX order and I didn't have all the money to pay for it, so I asked the dealer if I could pay the rest the next week, but he told me was just a messenger, he had no authority to make a deal with me, so he made a phone call. He walked a few steps away from me, but I have good hearing you know, when someone picked up his call he said, 'put me with Greed' and then he started to tell that person about me."

"Ok, but that's not enough for you to make such conclusions like that he is Wrath's right hand." Hyungwon pushed.

"I know, let me talk man. That moment I just thought he was someone on a higher level on the hierarchy, but I knew it when I got my first call for not paying in time. A different man called me, he was using something to change his voice because it sounded distorted,

‘Have you ever heard about me? They say is not a good thing when you get a call from greed, that only means your days are counted.’

That was two days ago, and now you see what happened... If he wasn’t that important, how would he plan a fire, and threatened a client?"

“What else did he tell you?” Hyungwon inquired.

“I thought he was someone trying to trick me, so I hung up the call.”

“Do you still have the number registered on your phone?” Changkyun leaned forward and place his hands on the table.

“It was an unknown number, I couldn’t see it.”

“Don’t worry we’ll track it.” One of the intelligence researches beside Kihyun rose up from his chair and left the room as soon as he heard Changkyun pronouncing those words. They understood it was an immediate order to start working on that. They had the alpha’s phone secured with the evidence from the fire.

“What did you do then when you were notified about the fire? I guess calling us was not your first option.”

“I tried to call the dealer who worked as my messenger, is the only number I have, but he didn’t pick up the damn phone, then I realized I was in danger and dying is not one of my priorities now...”

"That's good, could you contact him?"

"What?" The alpha’s eyes opened wide.

“Could you contact the dealer? I guess you still need to pay. This fire thing was just too scare you because you’re still alive, a punishment for playing with fire, you got burned, but the game is not over yet.”

“Oi oi, I thought the deal was just to spit out what I know about him and spend some quiet years in prison.” The alpha stood up from the chair and looked down at Changkyun. He was taller and stronger, but just as frightening. Changkyun looked up at the man's face and smiled.

“Or it could be that you spit out what you know, help us catch him, and no days in prison...” Changkyun said and the man became all ears, sitting down on the chair like an obedient puppy.

“Good. Now seems like we're understanding each other.” Changkyun leaned his elbows on the table. “I want you to call this dealer and tell him you have the money now.”

“What? But I have nothing…”

“Then,” Changkyun followed without paying attention to his complaints. "You'll make an appointment with him, and you'll say you have the money because someone else is interested in taking your place and become partners."

The man looked at him with his narrowed eyes, paying attention to every word.

"You'll speak highly of this new partner and say he is an old friend of yours. He is very interested in testing drugs and has an establishment where he wants to use dX to start his business."

"And who is this partner? Is he real?"

"That doesn't concern you" Changkyun patted him on the shoulder.

"Okay, you'll go with us now." Changkyun turned his head, looking for Hyungwon. The guards grabbed the man from both arms and made him rise to his feet.

“Hey Changkyun, I don’t think it is okay to do this now. We should wait. We barely know anything about this man...” Hyungwon whispered.

“I got the team working on it right now. Don't underestimate my decisions and do your work.” Changkyun scolded him in front of everyone, and Hyungwon’s face flourished red. "We won't do it right now anyway. Please show Serge his cell." Changkyun said to the guards.

The questioning finished, and Kihyun had started to feel the acid on his stomach increasing due to the hunger. Minhyuk was waiting for him at the door; they used to eat together at the cafeteria whenever both had a break.

Kihyun told Minhyuk what they found out about the fire as they served their food on a big plate from the hot pots available. That morning they had to choose between curry and pasta as their main dish. As they sat in the nearest table, Kihyun got curious about something.

"Where are you staying, by the way?" Kihyun asked, looking at Minhyuk’s well-rested attitude and plump skin.

“That's secret Kyuhyun, we're not allowed to talk about it.” Minhyuk lowered his voice.

"I know, I know. I'm just asking about the place, is it an apartment? How is it?"

"Oh, it's a big house in a fancy neighborhood surrounded by grannies. They're really cute..."

"Wait, what? Why did you get a house and I got an apartment?" Kihyun cut him off.

“I don't know Kyuhyun. I'm the one risking his life everything day hanging out with the bad wolves while you stay here doing DNA testing…” Minhyuk teased.

“Could you stop with the Kyuhyun, thanks.” Kihyun rolled his eyes. “And my work is as important as yours!” Kihyun couldn’t believe Minhyuk was comparing science with espionage.

“Have you ever shot a gun?”

“Do you know how to use a microscope?”

“Oh god, you haven’t!” Minhyuk’s jaw dropped open.

“Well, of course, I haven't! I just took some theoretical lessons.” Kihyun was a scientist; he didn’t need to learn how to shoot.

“Do you even know where are you working? You know you can use the shooting range we have here whenever you want to practice, right?” Minhyuk said in disbelief.

“I don't think that is necessary…”

“It is!” Minhyuk rose his voice. “We all have a gun at home for some reason. They are assuming we know how to use it if needed!”

“But our homes have been located in save places, and all of our neighbors have been previously investigated…”

“Yes, but still!” Minhyuk sighted as he massaged his temples. “I’ll see you tomorrow at 4 in the shooting range.”

“Hey, but I don’t…”

“You need to practice, danger is around the corner all the time…Oh look who is over there.”

Minhyuk cut off himself at the sight of Hyungwon coming to the cafeteria, “I’m going to make new friends Kyuhyunie, you’ll be okay without me today, right?” Minhyuk rose from his seat and grabbed his tray from the table looking down at Kihyun, who was about to finish his food.

“You can just eat with him or whoever you want for the rest of our stay here, and stop with the fucking Kyuhyun!!” Kihyun hissed smiling at the omega.

“You need to get laid, I’m serious.” Minhyuk ran away before Kihyun could do any potential harm to his body with the cutlery.

Kihyun sighted as he watched Minhyuk walking toward Hyungwon, who was caught by surprise when the omega greeted him and trespassed his personal space sitting beside him on his table.

Kihyun was about to finish eating when out of nowhere, Changkyun stepped in front of his table.

“Ah, Kihyun I was looking for you.” The alpha said to him. “Thank you for coming so early today, we’ll be working on the evidence during the next few days and perfecting the details for the infiltration, so you can take the rest of the day free.”

What? Kihyun thought he had heard it wrong.

“Sorry sir, what do you...?”

“Go home, take a rest, we don’t know what might come tomorrow. I’ll call you if anything happens.” Changkyun smiled and patted his shoulder before walking away from him.

When had been the last time he had heard those words? He quickly finished his food and went to gather his stuff at his office before Changkyun regretted his decision.

 

His driver was waiting for him outside the building, and he arrived home in a glimpse, not even having time to doze off in the car before he arrived at the subway station. He felt grateful he would have the rest of the day to sleep.

His feet felt heavy as he climbed up the stairs and looked for his keys inside his briefcase. When he arrived at his floor, the spicy scent welcomed him, stronger than ever, arousing him. He stopped on the spot at the sight of his neighbor’s broad back; he was wearing a white shirt all stuck to his body because he was completely covered in sweat, a pair of shorts and sports shoes. It seemed as if he had just run a marathon. The sweat all over his body intensifies the smell of his scent and Kihyun felt like fainting.

The alpha seemed to notice him and turned his head to look at him.

“Oh, Kihyun, right?” He smiled.

“Yes,” Kihyun bowed as a greeting. “Good afternoon.”

“Are you arriving from work?” The alpha, who was about to open his door when Kihyun arrived, seemed to forget what he was doing and looked willing to have a conversation in the middle of the hallway.

Kihyun wanted to disappear; if he had arrived a few seconds later, he could have easily entered his apartment and drop dead on his bed.

“Yes, today I left early.” Kihyun didn’t want to be rude, so he followed the alpha and tried to avoid visual contact.

“Do you work close from here?” The alpha tilted his head as if searching for Kihyun’s eyes.

“Yeah, I just need to take the subway and I arrive at the company.”

“A company, yes. I see you’re wearing a suit…” The alpha pointed at his plain necktie.

“Car insurance sales. A lot of fun you have there.” Kihyun was saying a lot for someone who wasn’t interested in having a conversation. Then Kihyun realized that was his chance to ask more about the alpha, like whether he had a night shift at work or what did he do for a living. But why did he want to know?

“And, do you have the rest of the afternoon free?”

“Yes.”

“That’s good, having time to rest…” Kihyun stopped listening to the alpha and got lost at the sight of his broad chest and muscular arms, the sweat dripping down the tanned skin, his brown hair and the perfect sharp jawline. Kihyun let himself breath in the scent. He realized he hated the smell because he loved it. The way it aroused him reminded him of those days when he would have done anything to get the knot. But he was different now; he would not let his nature win. He would get stronger drugs to avoid the smell.

“Kihyun?” The alpha said his name, bringing Kihyun back to earth.

“Ah, yes yes…” He didn’t know what he had missed in those seconds, but suddenly the alpha turned and opened his door.

“Come in.” He said, showing his dangerous long fangs as he smiled. “There's a mess inside, sorry...”

“What?”

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! I was supposed to update yesterday, but anyway, here is the 2nd chapter. I hope it wasn't too boring because of all the amateur police investigation stuff.   
> Please let me know your thoughts on this!


	3. The early bird catches the worm.

Kihyun looked at the strong hand holding the latch, opening the door for him, and then looked inside the dark apartment. The lights were off and the curtains were closed, the sunlight barely peered through them. Why was the alpha inviting him to come inside?

"I'm sorry, I was spacing out." Kihyun wasn’t going to go with the flow this time, he needed to fix his mistake. Friendships with neighbors were not allowed. "I actually have some work to finish right now, so I’ll be kinda busy…"

"Oh I see, it's okay. I was telling you if you like to eat with me, get to know each other, but we can leave it for another time." The alpha looked at him and his lips turned into a smirk.

"Yes, sure. Thank you." Kihyun nervously vowed.

The omega ran away to the next door and clumsily took out the keys from his briefcase, trying to find the right key before unlocking the door as the alpha keep staring at him with that smirk on his face until he finally got inside his own apartment and closed the door.

Kihyun was able to breathe out at last and noticed his heart pounding hard against his chest, reminded him of the sound of a horse racing.

So was it about eating and get to know each other? _What for?_ Kihyun’s thoughts swirled dangerously inside his head. Hyunwoo might be an unmated alpha, but he didn’t look like someone who doesn’t have fun once in a while with hot omegas. Kihyun thought himself as another prey, a piece of meat which others wanted to eat out until there was nothing left, and just for a fleeting second the idea of Hyunwoo tearing him apart excited him. 

He shouldn’t be thinking about such things; still, it would be impossible living next to someone who triggered him every time they bump into each other, and even when he didn’t see him, his scent wouldn’t leave him alone. Maybe he should tell Changkyun to relocate him, that would be the best. He would talk with him the next day when he found a chance. 

Kihyun walked past his living room and got inside his bedroom. Losing up his tie and throwing it to the floor he let himself fall on his bed, that day he just got to sleep a few hours on the sofa and the tiredness from the morning was finally taking over him. He had no work to do that afternoon, he was just following the rules to stay away. 

If things were different, would he have accepted getting into Hyunwoo’s house? He got rid of his coat and trousers and made his way inside the blankets, closing his eyes as he rested his head on the comfy white pillow. He imagined his old self meeting someone like Hyunwoo, He would have been flattered for being able to sleep with someone like him. Maybe he would be head over heels for him, crazy over his smell, over his body. Maybe Hyunwoo would be the perfect mate. But he didn’t know anything about the alpha, what was he thinking? He didn’t even know if he had that kind of intentions. As he fell asleep, Kihyun realized that alpha scent once again was all over his house.

…

 

Kihyun got into his lab the next day and found the reports his team had left for him the day before. Normal shift this time, no phone calls in the middle of the night, no unexpected meeting as soon as he arrived at work; he could consider himself lucky. 

Seemed like his team had finished analyzing the evidence from the fire, so he had enough time to read the reports and take the results to Changkyun. Then, he would be able to talk with him about his change of residence. 

Inside the lab, everything was quiet and Kihyun took his time to make himself a coffee and relax as he read, nonetheless outside everyone was working like crazy trying to find everything they could about that Greed and Serge. But Kihyun’s happiness ended soon when he was interrupted by his team arriving before they normal shift. They'd been summoned by Changkyun after the news of a male omega around his 20's who died during hospitalization after being under the effects of an unknown drug. 

All deaths related to overdoses and diseases associated with drug use were notified to their special operations team by the responsible of the hospitals in the city. It was a big help that the death had been during hospitalization because that way they had already a lot of test results and they didn't have to go to the scene to take samples and so on.

The omega used to be out all night and his roommate had thought he was working part-time at a store, but he was actually involved in prostitution. When the omega came home after his night shift he had been feeling drowsy and had vomited on his own clothes. His roommate had worried and took him to the local hospital. He died after a few hours just after telling the doctor he believed he had been drugged last night at work. It was more common to see cases of female omegas being drugged for sex but male omegas were also in danger. 

Due to the variety of psychoactive substances involved during the production of dX drug, plus in some cases the environment of drug abuse where omegas involved in prostitution worked, it was hard to identify whether the death had been caused by an overdose of dX or by the effect of other drugs or both. There had been many cases where Kihyun had made urine drug screens and results had been unclear, different substances showed the same levels, even in blood tests. 

That day Kihyun worked nonstop trying to identify the principal substances and how were they related to previous cases of omegas dying from an overdose. It had been a hard task; he had needed to analyze previous reports and run some tests with amphetamines, cannabinoids, cocaine, opiates… If only they had a sample of the drug, identifying the principal components would be easier. 

His lesson with Minhyuk at the shooting range was also canceled and he got back home later than usual. The next two days were the same, Kihyun was packed with work, and yes, he couldn't speak with Changkyun about the change of residence. Boss was pretty busy talking with Serge and preparing the operation where they would be meeting Greed. They had come to the resolution that if Changkyun’s hunch was right, them would be ones contacting Serge to talk about the payment, so then they would proceed to introduce Minhyuk as a potential buyer. They would wait a week for the call. Then, they would proceed to get in touch themselves and moved with plan B, which was basically the same thing, introducing Minhyuk to them, but unrelated with Serge.

Fortunately, he hadn’t run into Hyunwoo, but still, the smell was making him have weird thoughts before sleep. The next morning he had woke up with a hard-on after dreaming with his last boyfriend whose face suddenly had turned into Hyunwoo’s. He would have gotten all flustered if, by any chance, he met his neighbor in the hallway.

The next day Kihyun was about to finish all tests related to the death omega and decided to take a break out of the lab during lunchtime. He was walking toward the cafeteria and was about to text Minhyuk when he looked at him at the distance walking along with no other than Hyungwon himself. 

“Hey, I was about to text you…” Kihyun walked fast toward them. Minhyuk turned to look at him and greeted him with a wide smile while Hyungwon just nod. 

“Oh Kihyun, I finally see you. We still have those shooting lessons outstanding.” 

“You don’t need to worry about it.” Kihyun rolled his eyes. Hyungwon stayed behind Minhyuk as they talked, and he was about to leave them alone when Minhyuk turned to him. 

“Hyungwonie and I are getting along well, right?” Minhyuk put his arm around Hyungwon’s shoulders and smiled at him looking for confirmation.

“Could you please avoid hugging me? We’re like at 38 degrees here; I’m sweating.” Hyungwon whispered.

“See?” Minhyuk looked again at Kihyun as he took a step away from Hyungwon. 

“Oh yes, I see.” Kihyun frowned. 

“I have to get going, see you around.” Hyungwon finally got away without an explanation. 

“What was that?” Kihyun asked to Minhyuk.

“I did as I told and invited him for lunch. Of course, it was really hard; he kept refusing, saying it wasn’t necessary and I was getting tired of suggesting him things to eat until he finally gave up and came to the cafeteria with me.” Minhyuk smiled, proud for himself. “You see I can make anyone my ally.”

“He doesn’t seem pretty fond of you though…” 

“That’s because we’ve been friends just for like 37 hours. He’ll start to open with me little by little.” 

“If you say so…”

“We’ve already had lunch today, so I’ll be heading back to do my duties.” Minhyuk apologized.

“You’re just going to watch cartoons, you have no duties at the moment, yet you have a house all for yourself...” Kihyun interrupted his complains when he saw Changkyun leaving the cafeteria with a cup of coffee on his hand.

“You know what? See you later.” Kihyun excused and started to walk through the sea of tables toward the entrance following Changkyun. Minhyuk hissed something behind him, but he didn’t get to hear it. Now that he had reached the topic of residence complains, seeing Changkyun was the signal he needed to talk about it, and maybe convince him to relocate him. 

“Hey, Changkyun.” Kihyun jogged toward him as the alpha turned his head to see him.

“Kihyun, everything okay?” 

“Yes. Do you have a minute?” The omega inquired, his hands became to shake a little; it was an involuntary reaction to situations that caused him stress or discomfort.

“Sure, let’s go to my office.” 

Kihyun followed him and he sat in one of the two chairs in front of his desk. Changkyun’s office was always full of papers here and there; he was always typing nonstop on his computer, but this time he just sat to enjoy his coffee and waited for Kihyun to talk first. 

“Ah Changkyun, about the place I’m living right now, I wanted to ask you something?” Kihyun hesitated. 

“Sure, what is it? Is there something wrong?” The alpha put the coffee on the desk and adjusted his glasses looking at Kihyun.

“Not exactly, I was just curious about the place…” Shit, what was he saying? Why didn’t he say it straight? 

“About the place?” Changkyun quirked a brow and started to search for something in the computer in front of him. “We have information about the owner of course, the real estate salesman we contacted with, and we made a quick research on the residents and your direct neighbors…” Changkyun made a short pause waiting for Kihyun to ask the real question.. “It’s safe if that’s what you’re concern about...”

“Ah yes I know it’s safe, it’s just that… I mean the place is fine but... “ But my neighbor is an alpha and he is so hot is making me crazy. “the neighbors…” Kihyun didn’t really want to say the real problem so he just might end up making an excuse.

“Are they noisy? Are they giving you trouble?” Changkyun asked concerned. 

“Yes… something like that... I’m actually interested in what they do. I didn’t get the memo with that information and you know I like to be well aware of my surroundings…” Yes, that was a good start.

“Ah the man next door is an alpha called Son Hyunwoo. Apparently, he is just a freelancer engineering or something like that. He didn’t finish college or at least didn’t get his degree. He works in an automobile workshop during the night. Mina Baek is the beta lady who lives in front of you, she’s a nurse…”

“Changkyun,” Hyungwon opened the door abruptly and looked at Kihyun, but kept talking without paying attention to the omega. “The phone is ringing. I mean, Serge’s phone.” Changkyun’s eyes opened wide and he rose to his feet in a quick motion. 

“Okay let’s bring Serge to the questioning room, gather the intelligence team to track the call and record every single word from both sides of the line. We’ll move with the plan where Serge answers the call.” Hyungwon nodded and left the room in a hurry as Changkyun took a deep breath and looked at Kihyun. “Sorry, Kihyun we’ll talk later. You should go with us to watch the questioning.” Changkyun ran out of his office leaving Kihyun alone. 

Great, the omega didn’t get to say anything, but at least he now knew Hyunwoo was a real name and what he did for a living. 

He got out of the office and went to the one-way mirror room. Serge was already inside, sat in front of Changkyun and a cellphone was between them resting on the metal table. Hyungwon was behind Changkyun and in both rooms, ruled silence. 

“On the first call, the phone rang 4 times and then they hung up, now we’re waiting for them to get in touch again,” Hyungwon explained.

“Okay, do you remember what you’re going to say?” Changkyun asked Serge. The alpha seemed relaxed as he was making look the metal chair like the comfiest place where he had ever sat.

“I gotta sound as usual, mad at them for burning my brothel, but scared at the same time because I still owe them money..” Serge shrugged.

“And..” Changkyun pushed.

“That I already have the money, there is no need for more trouble, but the person who lent me the money to pay had one condition, which was to make the payment with me and talk about business with them.” 

“Good.” Changkyun leaned back on his chair. 

Suddenly the phone started ringing again and everyone inside the room startled. Computer specialists filled the room with the sound of keyboard typing, and the leader showed a thumb up at Changkyun behind the glass mirror. That was the sign they could pick up the call safely. Serge picked up the phone from the table and answered the call. Changkyuns buried his eyes on Serge as if he were watching his soul.

“Hello?” Serge said.

“Where are you?” Inside the room where Kihyun was, a distorted voice came out from one of the speakers for them to hear the other side of the line during the call. 

“As if I’m going to tell you.” Serge chuckled. “The hell you did to my brothel? I said I was going to pay.”

“And I told you there were no second warnings. We’re not playing.” The voice answered.

“I have the money for you to leave me the hell alone.” 

“That was fast.” Hyungwon was taking notes on his small notebook he carried everywhere, specialists were still typing and recording, but for Kihyun if was impossible to decipher the real intentions of the voice. He was dying of curiosity to know if the man on the other side was the famous Greed. 

“I got a friend who I owe my life now; he wants to see you and talk about business with you.” Changkyun looked pleased by Serges acting skills. 

“We’ll wait for you tomorrow at 1:00 am in District 3, by the abandoned community center where was the textile factory which got burned last year.” And he hung up the call. Serge returned the phone on the table.

“Did you get it?” Changkyun rose up from his chair and turned to the computer specialist.

“Yes! We got their location!” Everyone in the room rose from their chairs and started to cheer, clap and congratulate each other for their hard work. Kihyun just watched them; he felt like a foreign. He should have stayed in the lab. He knew a location wouldn’t help to find them they could be anywhere today and move the next day. 

“We got the location, but he can be anywhere, in a coffee shop, in a supermarket. Where is he?” Changkyun interrupted their party and looked at the specialist.

“He was on Harrington street.” The man confirmed less excited. Everyone lost their glow and looked disappointed. That was just a street in the center of the city full of stores. Kihyun smiled for himself, but he was disappointed too. 

“Just as we should have suspected, they aren’t in the call center of their headquarters making phone calls to their debtors. They just called when they have time.” Changkyun removed his glasses. “But that means they are everywhere, they’re not hiding under rocks, they aren’t ghosts, so we can catch them!” And that was right.

 

That afternoon Kihyun finished his report and left work in time. He was even more disappointed because he didn’t get to talk with Changkyun about the change of residence.

His driver took him to the subway and then he arrived home. Butterflies awoke on his stomach every time he went upstairs since the day they talked for the second time. He hated them. The alpha smell was there as usual. 

No surprises. He arrived safely to his door and got inside his lonely apartment. The sun was already gone, which meant Hyunwoo would leave in a couple of hours. His head throbbed painfully due to the amount of work he had been doing the past days and the few hours of sleep he had managed to get. 

He turned on the TV and let himself fall on the sofa as usual, but he realized he needed some fresh air. The news anchor was talking about the blood moon that could be seen in their country that night. As a man of science, Kihyun got excited by having the time to contemplate such a beautiful view from his balcony. 

He rose up from the sofa and walk toward the window, opening it completely and walking outside, He was welcomed by the fresh air of a summer night and the smell of smoke from a cigarette. Dumbfounded, the omega turned his head 45 degrees to his right and found the alpha peeking out his window as he smoked a cigarette. 

“Hey, long time no see.” Hyunwoo greeted him. 

Why? He could have just stayed laid on the sofa watching TV. Why had he had to watch the news? It’s not like the blood moon was the best thing to watch that night. He could have watched it any other time of the year or the next year. 

“Yeah… Goodnight.” Kihyun answered, trying to hide his self-pity. 

“Are you going to watch the blood moon?” The alpha asked as smoke came out of his mouth.

“Yes.” He answered very sharp, so he tried to soften the mood. “You too?” 

“Yes. Well, actually I was just smoking this cigarette and then I realized the moon started to turn red slowly.” The alpha smiled, and that smiled warmed the cold air of the night for the omega. As if he had been caught in a trap without a way to escape, Kihyun sighted and stopped worrying too much. Both turned to look at the sky. The moon was half red by then.  

“Tough day at work?” Hyunwoo asked. 

Kihyun startled and turn to look at the alpha. “Ah yes, kind of.” He realized that was his chance to confirm the information that Changkyun had given to him. “And you? You work during the night right? Isn’t it hard?” Ok, maybe he needed to ask one question at the time. 

“Oh, you realized.” Hyunwoo smiled wider. “Yes, sometimes, but I’m already used to working all night and sleeping a few hours during the day.” 

“And where do you work?” One again, a horse racing was taking place inside Kihyun’s chest.

“In an automobile repair shop. Sometimes people need their cars fixed in a few hours, and if they can pay it we can do it.” The alpha took another drag and released the smoke as he watched the moon, and the sky reflected on his glossy eyes. “And you? Is it easy to sell car insurances?” 

Kihyun didn’t want to be the one answering questions, lying. He wanted to know more about Hyunwoo, why was he always losing against him?

“Not really. You just need to know what kind of client you are dealing with.” 

“Yeah, the power of sales.” Hyunwoo nodded. Al least Kihyun was doing a good job being Kyuhyun this time. The alpha finished his first cigarette and took out another from a pack Kihyun hadn’t seen before. 

“And what are you smoking? I’ve never seen that brand before.” The omega asked curiously trying to change the conversation. He used to know every kind of cigarettes available for legal sale. 

“Ah, this?” Hyunwoo asked as he lighted up the cigarette and placed it between his lips. “I don't know which brand is, it was given to me by a coworker, but I liked the taste.” The alpha shrugged.

“It smells good.” Kihyun breathed in the second-hand smoke produced by Hyunwoo, a combination of psychoactive substances he hadn’t smelled before. It was sweet. 

“Yeah, is kinda sweet for me, but I don't know if it's too strong for omegas,” Hyunwoo smirked as he released the smoke between his lips, forming smoke rings. Kihyun felt challenged by his gaze, and he wouldn't be losing against the alpha again.

“Let's find it out.” Kihyun stretched his arm and tugged the cigarette from Hyunwoo's hand. He took it to his mouth, placing it between his pouty lips as he stared into the alpha's deep brown eyes and took a long drag. The chemicals hit him strongly from the start as he sucked in the smoke before releasing it in one long blow. It was different from all the cigarettes he had tried before, but it had a sweet taste which somehow made Kihyun liked it. Maybe it had something to do with Hyunwoo’s saliva. Strong yet sweet, and you could definitely feel the drug numbing your senses since the first use. Maybe it was too strong for omegas. He returned the cigarette to Hyunwoo holding it between his index and his middle finger. 

“It's good.” 

“You okay?” Hyunwoo joked, but Kihyun wouldn’t say he was okay.

“Of course! It’s not that strong.” The omega lied.

“I’m glad then. I might ask my coworker another pack for you.” Hyunwoo took the cigarette back as he smirked, looking at him with those glossy eyes, and Kihyun felt naked for a moment as he returned an innocent glance.

“I better go back inside. I have to work tomorrow.”

“But the moon is not full red yet…” Hyunwoo complained.  

“I think I’ll take a look in a while.” 

“Oh yes, you can do that. And I have to go to work in a while so, yeah, I can see it on my way to work..”

”Yes. Then, see you around.” Kihyun stepped back and closed his window. His head hurt. It had been reckless to be beside Hyunwoo for that long and take that cigarette. 

After a few minutes of lying on the sofa, he was still feeling dizzy. The strong pheromones from Hyunwoo must have been worsening the problem. He was feeling hot, his body was burning, and his heart rate wouldn’t get at ease. He needed to cool down his head. 

Kihyun sloppily walked to the bathroom and pulled the curtains which covered the shower. Turning the faucet to one side, a spring of cold water started to come out of the shower cabin. The omega undressed and got under the flow of water.

As warm water began to flow from the shower and fall on his skin, Kihyun started to rub his body with his hand, and when his hand went down between his legs, he realized he had a boner. Kihyun closed his eyes as he tried to get rid of all those guilty thoughts, but it was too late. 

Inside his head was an image of Hyunwoo smirking as he did before. Kihyun rubbed his crotch, curling his thin fingers around his hard member, giving it a few jerks before using his other hand to touch his rim. He was already wet inside, and the water falling from the shower had nothing to do with it. It was just like those days when he used to have strong heats and ended up in some alpha’s bed.  He was hot, all his body was aroused as if he had never taken his heat suppressants. 

He rushed up the pressure and the friction on his member, and his lips released a low moan. Water came inside his mouth, but he kept his eyes shut. Inside his head, Hyunwoo was looking down at him. The alpha was pinning him down against the bed, licking all over his chest, playing with his nipples, rubbing his cock with those strong hands. A jolt of pleasure ran through his spine as his cum stained his hand, and the omega rested his forehead against the wall. His rim was all lubricated and loosen up enough for him to thrust two fingers inside. On his head, those two fingers were one from Hyunwoo. God, he wanted Hyunwoo to fuck the celibacy out of him. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! I took way too much time writing this chapter idkw XD hope you like it. I didn't like it very much, but it was necessary.  
> I'll be posting a new chapter every two weeks between Fridays and Sundays (EST)  
> (I hope I can pull off a schedule for god's sake.)


	4. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

With three fingers inside him, Kihyun knew it wasn't going to be enough even if he managed to come or if he kept touching his member or inserting toys inside him. Slick was coming out of his rim and dripped down his legs as the water from the shower still fell over him. The water was cold by then, but due to the high temperature of his body, it kept feeling warm when it touched his skin.

The distant sound of an engine roaring away pulled Kihyun back to his senses. Hyunwoo had left to work, his scent was barely in the air, and what was the omega doing? He pulled out his fingers from his hole and closed the faucet to stop the water.

Was he going into heat? After two years? He had taken his suppressants that morning as usual, as every day, had they stopped working?

At first, when Kihyun started to take suppressants during work training days, the heats had still hit him hard, as if he was taking nothing to stop them. He had been producing a lot of pheromones and his colleagues had noticed. One day he had ended up making out with an alpha from IT maintenance, although it was forbidden doing such things at work. The alpha had been fired, and Kihyun had been seriously scolded by Changkyun, making the omega rest for a week until his heats passed, which had been certainly a problem cause later the omega had ended up working extra hours and without holidays. 

During one of those days at home, about to go nuts because of the unbearable need of a knot, Kihyun had decided to take two pills instead of one without consulting his Doctor first, and surprisingly it had worked. Then he lowered the dose for those days when he wasn't into heat, and then after 6 months, he went to his doctor who changed the pills for other ones less strong. That’s how he had been functioning without complications, until now.

Kihyun grabbed the towel hanged outside the shower, wrapped it around his waist and ran to open the first aid kit inside the bathroom mirror. It looked more like a small emergency drugstore. He rummaged inside it taking away all those pills for pain, diarrhea, headache, to take out a small box of suppressants. Those were stronger, the ones he had been taking at the beginning. 

Kihyun wasn’t being capable of thinking straight. He didn’t know what had caused him to be in that state; he just wanted to stop feeling that way. For what he knew it could have been Hyunwoo, that cigarette, the blood moon, something he had eaten, or all of the above. With trembling hands, the omega took out a pill from the box and shoved into his mouth, swallowing it down. 

The omega looked at himself in the mirror. His plump cheeks were flushed red, his light brown bangs of wet hair covered his forehead and eyebrows, almost reaching his eyes, and his pupils were fully dilated. He breathed in and out looking at his reflection until he started to feel his erection going down and his heartbeats reaching their normal pace. The blood moon, impossible; food, he had eaten the usual things at work. That left Hyunwoo and...  What kind of cigarettes was Hyunwoo in anyway? 

Fortunately, Kihyun was starting to calm down. There was no time for heats; the next day would be hard because they had the kind of raid and he was expecting that Changkyun needed him on the field. He got dressed and went to lie down on his bed until he lost consciousness. 

 

The next day Kihyun woke up feeling his body sweaty and hot. His crotch hurt and he realized his pants were wet. Inside of them, his erection begged for attention. Kihyun snapped and managed walking to the bathroom to pick up the box of stronger suppressants. He knew it was dangerous to take them without consulting his Dr., but it was a risk he was willing to take. He would call the doctor later when he'd found spare time.

The omega washed his face with cold water and took the pill. Hoping his body would get at ease soon, he dressed in his black suit for work and throw the box of suppressants inside his briefcase. 

Kihyun left his apartment trying to go unnoticed, wary of bumping into Hyunwoo. That was the last thing he wanted. The omega was sure that if he found the alpha by any chance on his way down, the smell would throw away the effect of the suppressant, and he would start to produce slick like crazy. 

On his way to the station, his erection had gone, his hole wasn’t twitching anymore and he found himself feeling much better by the time he arrived at the headquarters. If possible, he didn’t want to meet anyone on his arrival and walk straight to the lab, but life never worked the way he wanted. Changkyun was at the principal hall, where people not important enough to have their own offices worked on their desks separated by thin drywalls. The alpha was talking with his subordinates, preparing for today’s raid probably, and finished his conversation in a hurry to approach Kihyun. 

“Kihyun, you’re early today!” The alpha stepped in front of him. 

“Yes, I wanted to finish some things before we leave…” He just didn’t want to be in the apartment by the time Hyunwoo arrived. Kihyun started to make excuses, but he was cut by Changkyun.

“Ah about that, it’s good you’re early because we’re actually leaving earlier than planned.” 

“Oh, lucky me then....” 

“We were planning to leave in the night, take Serge and Minhyuk, and just make the deal to get the drug and contact with Greed, but we hadn’t considered that they can take advantage of the place to set us a trap and trying to fool us, or there might be important evidence in that place, that’s where you are going to be of help. So we are going to surround the area in case things get out of our hands, and I want you to gather your team to search the place before the meeting, just the usual procedure. If you find something, good; If not, it’s okay too. Just for precaution” Changkyun spoke hastily and adjusted his glasses when he finished. 

“Sure.” Kihyun was caught by surprised by the sudden command, even so, he couldn’t help but get excited. Changkyun was no different. You could sense the alpha pheromones increasing when he was excited about catching the bad guys. He had a liking for hunting, it was his nature. Alpha pheromones… Kihyun’s sharp sense of smell noticed a change in the atmosphere, and he unconsciously started to produce pheromones too. 

“Okay, if that’s all you wanted to tell me, I’ll be getting ready in the lab...” Kihyun gibbered, trying to run away before Changkyun noticed anything. 

“Wait.” It was too late. Changkyun grabbed him by the arm and looked right into his eyes.

“What?” Kihyun startled, releasing more pheromones. 

“Are you okay?” The alpha asked frowning.

“Yes, yes everything is fine.” But it wasn’t, Kihyun was starting to feel dizzy. Changkyun’s pheromones felt strong, and things would turn dangerous if he didn’t run off. 

“Are you taking your suppressants?” Changkyun inquired with suspicion.

“Yes, I am…” Changkyun kept staring at Kihyun not believing a word the omega was saying, his body was certainly betraying him. “I swear I did but seems like they’re not working… but I’ll take another now!” 

“If you’ve already taken one you shouldn't be looking like this. Come on, let’s get out of here before anyone else smells you.” Changkyun grabbed Kihyun by the shoulder and protectively led him to his lab. Kihyun was holding his breath as they walked with hurry. Changkyun was trying to hide the scent of the omega with his own by releasing more pheromones, which was driving Kihyun crazier.

They arrived at Kihyun’s lab and Changkyun waited for the omega to get inside. “You cannot be here like this.” 

“I’m fine! I’ll take care of it now..” Kihyun tried to defend himself. He didn’t want to lose his chance of being there helping in such an important operation.

“It’s for your own sake, you should go home and rest until the heat goes…” Changkyun was trying to be nice and convince the omega to leave, not only for his own sake but for the sake of the mission. 

“I’ll call my Dr. now, I already have different suppressants here with me, he will tell me which one take and everything would be fine in an hour…” Kihyun wasn’t sure if that would work, but he would do as he said and take the suppressant. 

“You’re lucky we still have time because you’ve arrived early. Call your Dr. and take what he says. I’ll come in two hours and if you still reek of omega you would go home, okay?" 

“Yes. I will. Thank you for looking after me.” Kihyun bowed thanking the alpha. He admired all the self-control Changkyun always showed. Any other alpha would had already pinned him against the wall and tried to rape him. 

Changkyun left, taking away with him the strong alpha scent he had produced, and Kihyun, alone in his lab, was able to breathe again. His pants were starting to get wet, but he didn’t pay much attention to them. Instead, he took his phone and search for Dr. Han’s number on the agenda. A beta around his 30’s who he used to go for regular check-ups with and also his former school professor.  

“Hello?” The voice of the man came out of the speaker and the omega’s hand tighten around the phone.

“Dr. Han! It’s me Kihyun…” 

“Oh Kihyun, sorry I didn’t watch who was calling. It’s been a while.” The man’s silky voice made Kihyun felt relieved.

“Yes, it’s been a while. I'm sorry, were you busy right now?” Kihyun felt bad for calling out of a sudden.

“No, it’s fine. How have you been?” 

“Thank you. I’m not that fine actually, that’s what I’m calling.” The omega regretted saying the last thing, though it was true.

“Don’t worry, that’s what people call me for haha.” The beta giggled. “What’s the problem?” Kihyun went straight to the point.

“You’ll see… I’ve been taking the suppressants you prescripted me since the last time we saw, and there hadn’t been any problem until yesterday when I started to have symptoms of heat, and I hadn’t had a heat since like two years ago…” 

“What kind of symptoms?” Mr. Han asked intrigued.

“Like… my whole body was burning, not even a cold shower could calm me down. And I.. had to… touch myself.” Kihyun was feeling so embarrassed even though they met since a long time, and it was normal for omegas to do that during a heat, but he just felt like that didn’t go with him anymore. 

"Sounds like something might have triggered your cycle. Has there been any change in your environment lately?” 

“Kind of… I changed of residence, I’ve been working a lot, I ended up taking a drag from a cigarette of a… friend, but just one. I've been pretty stressed.” Kihyun had to confess about the cigarette to Dr. Han. Changkyun or Minhyuk would be nagging him for doing such reckless thing. 

“I see. Have you taken any other drugs recently?” 

“No! No at all! I'm working, I can't do that.” It had been just a drag, he was not a junkie, but he knew better than sometimes a drag of any drug was enough to kill you.

“I know but I still needed to ask,” Dr. Han apologized. “You don’t have a mate right? When was the last time you had sexual intercourse?”

“That was also like two years ago.” With that alpha from IT. Kihyun’s relationships were a mess. Well, saying 'relationships' was too much, they were more like one night stands. 

“Have you ever got marked?” 

“No.”

“And what happened yesterday, what did you do with your symptoms? 

“I.. took another suppressant, and it worked, but just for a few hours. The heat was back when I woke up this morning… So I took another…”

“What? You shouldn’t do that! If you take too many then nothing would work, and there won’t be a way to stop your heats later!” Mr. Han scolded Kihyun.

“I know, but I have something important job today. I can’t miss it! That's why I'm calling above all.”

“Well, according to the things you’ve told so far, seems like your pheromones level has risen, and the cycle of production might be accelerated. You need to have a blood test done if we want to know what is going on exactly on your body, but even with those results there're some cases this kind of alterations are because you haven't satisfied your libido for a long time, and anything could have triggered you…”

That was a possibility Kihyun had thought about before, but he refused to follow the nature he decided to leave behind. 

“I can't do that either. I don't have a mate, and it would be a distraction from work. Can’t you give me something to ease off the heat?”

“If you don’t have time to come here you should make the blood test yourself, you work in lab, don’t you? Base on that I can give you something, otherwise, I don't think it would help you taking more suppressant, it could be dangerous.”

“But…!”

“I know you’re a workaholic, but if you keep taking suppressants they might cause you side effects such as fever, vomit, diarrhea, and heats that last 10 days at least instead of 5 or 7, so you need to take just one per day and no more. Even if you feel like it's not working, don't take more than one.”

“Ok, I guess I’ll bear with it.” 

“Yes. Please call me tomorrow or I’ll get worried.” 

“Yes, I’ll call you. Thank you for taking my call today.”

“No problem, later.”

“Bye.”

Kihyun hung up the call and dropped himself on his chair. He wouldn’t be able to approach any alpha in that state, so he wouldn’t be able to work. He had taken two suppressants per day before and nothing had happened. It would be just for that day, a few hours, then he would go home and close doors and windows until he felt better to go out and visit Dr. Han.

Without giving it a second thought, he took out the pills from his briefcase, but when he was about to put one on his tongue, his eyes traveled to the syringes on his left, and he decided to take a sample of his blood to analyze it before the suppressants completely ruined the test. 

Kihyun just hoped there wouldn't be any side effects, at least during that afternoon. It seemed like once again the pill had worked because when his coworkers arrived at the lab, they didn't mention anything nor threw him weird glances. Kihyun hid his blood sample for later; if the other saw him analyzing blood when they had finished their samples the day before, they would start asking questions. 

After the two hours period, Changkyun gave to Kihyun, the omega got a text where the alpha asked him to go see him at his office. Kihyun followed the order and found Minhyuk inside talking with Changkyun. The omega looked at Kihyun surprised, and Changkyun asked him to leave them alone.

Minhyuk smirked at Kihyun playfully and closed the door behind him. 

“Seems like you’re fine now. Anyhow, you’ll be working with Hyungwon the whole day.”

It made sense, Changkyun wanted Kihyun away from all alphas, and Hyungwon was the less threatening and most boring person Kihyun could think of. Changkyun proceeded to give him detail instructions about his particular task as he had done with Minhyuk.

When the time came, everyone gathered with their pre-arranged teams at different times within the following three hours. Kihyun's team was one of the first to leave because they had to analyze the area, use UV light to search for fluids, and so on.

According to Changkyun, the dealers had chosen a place where they had one sort of advantage over their potential clients. One of those might have been that it was a place the police hardly patrolled because no one went to that area anymore. There was nothing to go for, just irregular business could develop there under the moonlight.

The main spot for the meeting was the burned textile factory, which was around 800m2. On its right was the abandoned community center, and all the buildings around them, which used to be apartments, now were empty. It had been a big fire, and the smoke had remained there for weeks, even months. God knows what they actually had inside the factory. Rumors had said they kept radioactive material and if you lived near the area you could start developing cancer and other diseases, but the theory was never confirmed nor denied by the government. Thus, people in the community center had been relocated, and the people who used to live there started to move out until the place became what people called a ghost town. 

Hyungwon was in charge of the first three teams. One of their special operations teams, in charge of searching for cameras or mics or any type of technology. Then they would proceed to install their own. Changkyun wanted hidden microphones and cameras around the whole area. He wanted to hear every breath, every whisper the enemy gave, and watch the roads they took to arrive and leave. The scientists, Kihyun among them, who hopped off the second van all dressed in black instead of their usual white lab coat and went to do what they knew better. And the snipers, who had plenty of time to find the building of their preference to hide and wait there in case their services were required. 

Time flew as everything was getting ready. By 4 pm everyone went to take a break and hide until later. Changkyun had arrived just an hour before so he was still full of energy. Minhyuk had also been among the last to arrive. Hyungwon was sleeping inside one of the vans and Kihyun was with him, trying to ignore all stimuli from the environment. 

The afternoon passed, and the night was welcomed by the few lamps of the street turning at the absence of sun rays. Then everyone started to move again. Even though the meeting wasn’t going to be until 1 am, Changkyun wanted everyone ‘testing’ their spot, in case there were complications. Then another team would patrol the streets to make sure they went completely unnoticed, and in case they sense or smell the presence of anyone, they would relocate them. 

Kihyun and the scientists were told to be at one of the vans, resting away from the scene, and wait until later during the early morning when they would be analyzing the place again after everyone had left. But Kihyun, as one of the oldest member and leader, wanted to be as close as possible of the scene. Thus, he was with Hyungwon inside one of the closest buildings with a sniper. 

They had front row seats behind the polarized picture window of the dingy apartment. Hyungwon was typing something on his phone while the sniper was taking out his bullets to put them on his rifle carefully. Kihyun was watching at his slim fingers almost caressing the long barrel and the omega was suddenly able to sense the excitement emanating from the man. Just then Kihyun realized the sniper was an alpha because of his pheromones, and he started to feel uneasy. 

Kihyun took his eyes away from the man and got up from his seat, walking away from him to the far corner of the big window. He took out his phone and tried to distract his mind watching at the time, 9 pm, but the feeling now was different; not like before when he met Changkyun and started to feel the heat, it was more like he was feeling sick. 

The omega began to sweat, and the sniper started to threw suspicious glances at him. Hyungwon then stopped typing on his phone and turned to look for Kihyun who wasn’t seated by his side anymore and noticed the omega shivering in the corner. 

“Hey Kihyun, are you all right?” He rose up from his seat too and started to walk over Kihyun. That was the first time the omega saw his serious expression turning into something similar to concern. Kihyun felt even dizzier, and when he less expected it, he bent on his knees to throw up all the dinner on the floor. 

When he finished, he noticed his shirt was splattered with vomit and the smell of the rotten food made him puke again. This time only water came out of his mouth.

“No, you're not alright,” Hyungwon muttered. He took out the emergency radio they had to communicate between teams and turned it on, tuning the channel he needed.

“Changkyun, are you copying? We have a situation here. Dr. Yoo feels sick and has just thrown up.”

Kihyun had stopped retching, and he was looking at Hyungwon with panic in his eyes. 

“What?” Changkyun's exasperated voice came from the other side of the speaker. “Shit. He needs to leave. I told him he can't be here like that.” 

“Wait, was he feeling sick earlier and you let him come here anyway?” Hyungwon asked in disbelief, but Changkyun seemed to ignore his question.

“Please contact his driver and text him our location to pick him up and take him to his apartment.” 

“I think you’ve heard…” Hyungwon looked at Kihyun turning off the radio, his serious expression was back. 

“But I'm fine, it might have been just something in the food that bothered my stomach… ”

Hyungwon kneeled in front of him and placed his cold-as-ice-hand on the omega’s forehead.  

“No Kihyun, you're burning!” Kihyun realized he was sweating cold and his skin felt hot at the touch. “You have a fever. You need to go now before you put in risk all the operation we've been working on for days just because of your recklessness.”

Kihyun felt like crying. His cheeks flushed red as anger, rage, and self-pity mixed inside him. Who was Hyungwon to talk to him like that? But he knew the beta was right. He didn't want to screw up everything.

“I'm calling your driver now.” Hyungwon rose to his feet and made the call.

“Yes.” The omega muttered with a cracking voice. He looked up and watched the sniper sat in silence at the other corner of the room as he watched the scene, and when the alpha noticed Kihyun’s glance, he got back to rubbing his rifle with a piece of rag. 

Thirty minutes later, his beta driver went to pick him up at the arranged spot. Hyungwon had helped Kihyun to go down the stairs of the building, and a van had taken him a few streets away from the scene. 

Kihyun felt weak, and nausea had been replaced by high temperature. He didn't want to go home. There was not safe; as soon as he'd arrive the strong alpha scent would be waiting to welcome him. It would be hell for Kihyun to even climb up the stairs, but anywhere would be dangerous for him in that state. 

The beta driver had the instructions to drop Kihyun closer from home that night, no subway, but the omega really wanted to ask the driver to take him somewhere else. Kihyun even thought about asking the beta to take him to his home to fuck him and see if it was enough for the omega to calm down for a while. He had done it with some betas during college just for a change, and it had worked better than toys, as long as they had something big to stick inside him. But by the time he was trying to come up with a plan, they were already a block away from his home.

"Mr. Kihyun, is it okay if I leave you here? I can't park in front of your house or I'll be seen by your neighbors." The beta was looking at him through the rearview mirror.

"Ah yes, it's okay" Kihyun shuddered and grabbed his briefcase before hopping off the car with trembling legs.

“Take care.” The beta closed the door and started the car.

_ Please don't go… _ Kihyun felt so vulnerable as he watched the car leaving. The street was dark and empty. He sighed and started to walk steadily towards his house. There was already 10 pm and, according to his previous registers, Hyunwoo was still at home. 

Maybe Mr. Han was right and the fastest cure to get rid of the heat was literally get knotted. The closer he was from home, the more he thought about it, and when he reached the door and saw the motorcycle still parked outside, his mouth started to melt. There was nothing wrong in getting laid, why was he so reluctant about it? It was really funny using others to satisfy your desires. But he never wanted to be the one used. His thoughts were full of contradictions, and when he came back to reality, he had already climbed up the stairs and was stood outside Hyunwoo’s door as if his scent had hypnotized the omega and brought him right to his lair. 

Something inside him was telling him to get the hell out of there and find any other alpha to release his needs. That alpha looked dangerous as if something fishy was unfolding around him. Moreover, he was his neighbor, and it was forbidden to get involved with your neighbors. But he had to admit that if he had to choose any alpha from the earth at that moment, of course he would choose his hot neighbor. Having that in mind, he decided to ignore rules and knock on the door. 

The omega was sweating even though the night was cold, and he could hear his heart beating like crazy. Kihyun clenched his fist, and just when he was about to knock, the door opened leaving him frozen with his fist oh the air. Hyunwoo was wearing his leather jacket and seemed like he was off to work, 

“Kihyun! You startled me, are you alright?” No, he wasn't, and he was pretty sure the alpha had also smelled him, why was he acting as if he hadn’t noticed him? 

“I… I need you to help me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, super late update but this fic is alive! I suck at organizing my time and that makes it hard for me to keep a schedule. But I'm still trying! 
> 
> About their hair and stuff, I used to picture Hyungwon with his silver hair at the beginning of this story but lately, I'm picturing him in my mind with this new black long hair XD The rest had their looks from the We are here photobooks, except for Wonho. 
> 
> I hope you're still eager to read this. Stay tuned for the next chapter!


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